Friday, December 29, 2006

Okay, I actually read this one two books ago, but I wanted to include it in the blog because I was so impressed by it. This is a story of a small town that quarantines itself during the plague. It's based on a real town and revolves around the fictionalized story of a young mother who befriends a traveling seamster. Inevitably, people become infected and the town's unorthodox minister manages to convince the townspeople to make the ultimate sacrifice and not run from the disease but instead quarantine themselves so no other towns become infected. This one was a real nailbiter and just kept moving. I found myself most drawn to the medicine women in the book. The way they are both revered for their knowledge and also thought of as witches was fascinating and horrifying. If you like amazing fiction mixed with heartwrenching history, please read this book.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is fantastic! I can't believe it took me so long to read it. The story begins with a little girl named Chiyo who is taken from her home to work in an okiya where she learns to be a geisha. While reading, I really thought this was a true story. When I found out later that it wasn't, I was so impressed with the author's attention to detail. He must have done soooo much research to include such beautiful details in the story. Though it didn't make me cry, this book really took hold of me and made me care about this geisha's story. I was full of so much hope for her. A real page-turner. Becky, you HAVE to read this.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Hi everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas gifts. I thought I'd create this blog so we can stay up to date on what everyone is reading. When you read a book, why not post it up here so everyone can see what you thought. Should someone else read it too, or is it the kind of book only Amanda would like? (-: Let's try to keep this up. It might be fun! Oh, and I'm really not great at this whole blogging thing, so Becky, you're gonna' have to help the rest of us out for a while, okay? Love you all!